Rupert Murdoch’s organisation had a moral duty to pay the legal costs for Sun reporter Anthony France. But it refused to do so.
Instead, members of the public and plenty of journalists responded to a crowdfunding appeal and raised the cash in less than six hours.
France, a crime reporter, was the first Sun journalist to be found guilty over payments to a public official in the wake of the Operation Elveden police investigation.
He was convicted in May of aiding and abetting a police officer to commit misconduct in a public office by paying him for stories. He received an 18-month suspended sentence.
At the conclusion of the trial, he was told he must pay £35,000 towards the prosecution’s costs and it was suggested that his employers, News UK (the former News International), should pay.
But the publisher would not do so and at a hearing on Thursday, Judge Timothy Pontius QC expressed his “considerable disappointment” that it would not accept its “moral responsibility” by dipping “into its capacious pocket” to pay the costs.
He therefore reduced the costs order, demanding that France pay a tenth of the original sum: £3,461. The rest would come from the public purse.
Press Gazette reports that around lunchtime on Thursday, journalist Dennis Rice launched an appeal to raise France’s legal costs. He said:
“I am hoping that as friends and supporters of Anthony, and other journalists still facing trials, we will band together and send a ‘strong message’ that we deplore this lack of support and respect for Anthony.
Aside from the fact that I’m not sure that he has the money to pay, coverage of what we will be doing will show Anthony that he is not alone and that as he tries to rebuild his life he always has friends he can call on.”
More than 75 people made contributions and the total was exceeded some six hours later (Full disclosure: I contributed).
France is quoted by PG as saying: “Thank you Dennis Rice, Press Gazette, its readers and Fleet Street for the spontaneous act of generosity.”
As I wrote following France’s conviction, Murdoch should hang his head in shame. France worked within a culture set by his organisation in which the payment to sources for stories was not merely tolerated but encouraged.
When I asked News UK – which funded France’s defence costs – why it wouldn’t pay the prosecution costs on France’s behalf, a company spokeswoman said it was not prepared to comment “on an ongoing matter”.
That was a calculated, cynical, corporate response to a human drama. Thank goodness that 75 and more people have shown sympathy towards the reporter.
See also Chris Boffey’s piece on The Drum, News International should pay Sun crime reporter’s legal costs – and give him back his job.
